the budget buy: elf moisturizing foundation stick review

I have wanted to try out a stick foundation for a few months now, but couldn’t bring myself to spend money on a product I didn’t think would work for my combination skin. Since I wasn’t willing to spend a ton of money on a stick foundation but wanted to test one out, I decided to take a trip to the drugstore. When I saw that Elf had a foundation stick, I knew this was the one I wanted to try.

The Elf Moisturizing Foundation Stick (0.49 oz, $3.99 cdn) came out in 2014 and claims to provide an easy gliding, hydrating and natural looking finish with an abundance of natural ingredients and antioxidants listed. The foundation comes in three shades – ivory, natural and nude. 

Packaging

The pull off cap and twist tube is made of a matte plastic and looks quite sleek. One thing I really like about foundation sticks is that they are travel friendly and not messy. The Elf stick in particular feels durable enough to be thrown around from one bag to another without any worries of leakage.

Product

The foundation stick applied smoothly and felt like I was gliding on a thick cream. The first time I applied this, I used a foundation brush to buff it into my skin but noticed that it was applying unevenly and super patchy. I took my beauty blender and dabbed overtop the foundation which created a much smoother and more lightweight appearance. I’m actually really happy with how it applies with my beauty blender!

The foundation lasts about 7 hours for me and was surprisingly less drying than I expected. I always use my Tatcha Beauty Papers to blot my t-zone mid-day, but with this foundation I didn’t use my blotting papers at all. (I used my HD pressed powder to set my makeup in the morning). When I asked my husband if he noticed anything different, he couldn’t tell the difference between this $3.99 foundation vs. my Ultra HD Make Up For Ever Liquid Foundation that retails for $52!

This foundation is fragrance free but definitely puts out a chemically smell if you intentionally try to sniff it. I’m not super sensitive to scents, so I didn’t notice the chemical smell while applying the foundation.

I have heard that the ivory shade doesn’t work as well as the natural and nude colours. It comes off as patchy and doesn’t get absorbed into your skin very well, so it literally just remains as a layer on top of your skin. However, if you’re lucky enough to colour match to the natural or nude shade and have combination to dry skin, I would recommend trying out this foundation. It is quite hydrating, so oily skin types might not like that extra boost of moisture.

This product is a great value. If you’re looking for a foundation stick with an affordable price point that hydrates and provides medium to full coverage, you should absolutely try this out!